PRESS BOX.

Williams sisters are both out

Venus Williams's disappointing start to the year continued on Thursday when she suffered a 6-2, 6-3 defeat to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, 18, in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open.

No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne took just 48 minutes to sweep aside an ailing Conchita Martinez 6-1, 6-0. She will play Meghan Shaughnessy in the semifinals after the American beat fourth-seed Anastasia Myskina of Russia 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. Kuznetsova will meet Japan's Ai Sugiyama, who beat Greece's Eleni Daniilidou 6-1, 6-3 in the other semifinal. Second-seed Williams was absent from the tour after Wimbledon because of injury and has struggled since returning at the Australian Open.

She lost there to compatriot Lisa Raymond in the third round, and then won just one match in Tokyo before defaulting her quarterfinal because of a knee injury.

"It's very difficult to play an event of this caliber against players who have trained and been out there practicing," said Williams. "But I know I'll be OK."

- Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week's Qatar Open because of illness, the WTA said. Williams has not played competitively for nearly eight months after undergoing a knee operation but had hoped to make her comeback at the $600,000 event in Doha.

- Second-seeded Guillermo Coria and Australian Open runner-up Marat Safin were upset in the second round of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France.